Foodie, Friends & Family
The choices we make when it comes to what we eat have a ripple effect, not only on ourselves and our loved ones, but also on the planet, the ecosystem and our communities. Choosing to eat healthy, local and in-season could be the most revolutionary act for ourselves and for the Earth - helping to curb some of the most pressing social and environmental issues we face, but also to create a more equal society where everyone has access to good food.
Cutting down food waste is an important piece of the puzzle and it starts from our homes! Join us by taking action to reduce food waste at home and participate in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. Your act of love can start by cooking out of your fridge and by looking at the value of ingredients beyond their appearance. The result is a delicious act of kindness towards our Planet that can be shared with those around us. Below are some of the stories and recipes you have been sharing with us from all over the world. Let them inspire you, put your chef's at on and create your own recipes, for people and the planet.
Your Quarantine Recipes
"Can an egg make you happy?" By Luca Schiavon
Recovered ingredients: eggs, parmigiano reggiano, asparagus.
A little bit about Luca: Luca is a 24-year old food science student from Mantova. When he was only 4-5 years old, he used to help his mother bake cakes and his favourite part was asking her if he could lick the bowl with the dough or cream. Since then, he’s always wanted to become a chef but his parents didn’t agree and after a while, Luca found a job as shop assistant in a supermarket and gave up his dream. But dreams are hard to forget and after a year and a half, Luca decided to go back to school, this time to study food science. “I’m happy for what I’m doing and I think it was the only choice that made me fully happy.” – he told us.
Why cooking is an act of love: “I think this is more a concept than a recipe, because it can be done with what you want. In this case I used things that we all have at home. Each season offers spectacular products and we should be able to appreciate them at their best moment. Cooking is an act of love both towards ourselves – it is important to cultivate our passions and we should be the starting point of our own path – and towards others.”
Recipe
The eggs are cooked sous vide (63 ° C-45 minutes), chilled in iced water, gently opened and breaded. Let them rest in the freezer for at least an hour and then fry them in hot oil. In the meantime, prepare a béchamel with Parmesan cheese - the texture is not important, you can choose whether you want it creamer or denser. The asparagus are seared and placed around the egg and on the béchamel.
"Spaghetti golosi" ("Delicious spaghetti") by Daniela Perrone
Recovered ingredients: Mixed vegetables – zucchini, artichokes, potatoes, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes.
A little bit about Daniela: “In my house there was always a vegetable garden: my grandfather had one, my father had one after him, and now I have my very own. The house n°1 rule has always been “NEVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY”, especially the fruit of the Earth that was given to us with so many sacrifices. With vegetables I always try to give them new life, every time in a different and creative way.”
Why cooking is an act of love: “Because we live to eat, to love, to dream. And when we use our dreams and our love to cook, then cooking becomes the greatest expression of love that there is. My grandmother used to say that it’s also through our stomach that love travels to our bain and to our heart.”
Recipe
1 zucchini
1 artichoke
1 potato
half a small leek
5 champignons
A bunch of cherry tomatoes
1 fresh hot pepper
Parsley
1 glass of white wine
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Procedure: take the zucchini, the artichoke, the potato, the mushrooms and once cleaned, cut them into small pieces. Take a pan add oil and the sliced leek and sauté the vegetables; blend with wine and add the cherry tomatoes cut in half, towards the end of cooking; add the fresh red pepper, sprinkle with parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Once the spaghetti are al dente, add them to the vegetables and sauté together. Serve and add more freshly chopped parsley.
"Nothing beets sharing a meal together" by Katie Lombardo
Recovered ingredients: Old beets (every part of the beet, including root, stem, and leaves), sweet potatoes, onions (I had two sweet onions past their prime), vegetable stock, fresh herbs from the garden, balsamic vinegar, flour, and butter.
A little bit about Katie: “My grandmother taught me to make pie at a young age, so when I feel nostalgic or yearn for home, pie is always my go-to meal. My grandmother grew up never wasting a scrap of food, and she always uses every bit of the ingredient that she wants to highlight. While sweet pies are typically her speciality, I decided to use what we had in the fridge to make a savory twist on a humble classic, the “potato pie”. Root vegetables have so much to offer when lovingly prepared, so I decided to celebrate something usually left at the back of the fridge.”
Why cooking is an act of love: “Cooking has always been an intimate connection to the most meaningful moments in my life. I have found that eating is an emotional experience which often triggers the smells, tastes, and memories of childhood, travel, and comfort. I associate cooking with my mother and grandmother, and with long meals full of colorful stories told by my quirky Texas family. Cooking is my conduit to discovery – of new places, and new friends. It means sharing a piece of yourself, your culture, and your creativity with others. Is there any more pure and genuine form of love?”
Recipe
Pie crust:
Use a pastry blender and incorporate:
2 cups of flour
1/2 cup of vegetable shortening (butter also works)
3-4 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of ice cold water
Fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
Chill for 10-15 minutes and roll out into a pie plate. Crimp the edges and pre-bake at 170 °C for 10 minutes. Take out to cool while filling is made.
Filling:
Sauté two onions and any leftover beet parts (stem, leaves) in extra virgin olive oil until fragrant.
Add chicken or vegetable stock (I had a can in the pantry, but fresh is always better!), a sprig of fresh rosemary, and balsamic vinegar and reduce down until thick. Add a touch of flour to thicken if needed.
Add filling to pre-baked pie crust.
Arrange thinly sliced sweet potato and beets on the top of the filling, pressing them into the onion reduction to stand up. Brush the tops with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until vegetables look done and are soft and crispy. Garnish with fresh herbs.
"The burrito that dreamt of being a tagine" by Nicholas Moschopoulos
Ingredients recovered: mixed vegetables, spices, homemade vegetable stock and a mistakenly delivered, vegan, burrito.
A little bit about Nicholas: “It was my girlfriend’s birthday and her friends ordered an at home meal from Rezdora, an Italian restaurant. The doorbell rang, and, instead, a delivery from a Mexican restaurant was handed over. In an effort to keep the birthday dinner going, we looked at each other and said “well… we haven’t had burritos in a long time!” On opening the burritos, however, we found out they were two kale / black bean burritos. We still gave it a try, but they tasted a little sad. Instead of throwing them out we decided to get creative! One year ago, we were in Morocco – it was a magical trip – and, thinking of it, we picked out the saffron we bought there that is still in our pantry and decided to make something to remind us of that trip. When I think of the Moroccan cuisine, I think of the beautiful notes of sweetness that interject in their foods, those notes really lighten up the heavy stews. We figured that because the burrito wrapper is a slightly sweet dough, it might just work as an idea to bring us on a little journey back to Morocco.”
“(Sorry, we don’t have a photo. The smell was too good, and we decided to eat instead of photographing it.)”
Why cooking is an act of love: “It is that sense of community and unity that I most associate with food. That feeling of love and appreciation, knowing that my mom was in the kitchen day after day cooking for us. And for each one of her kids, she would make small variations based on what we liked or didn’t like. My mom is the embodiment of sharing food as an act of love.”
A special THANK YOU to Jorge Mena for her Hangover Omelette and for the beautiful illustration and message: “First of all. thank you for all these magic weeks of Kitchen Quarantine, thanks for all the love you share as a family. I am a chilean food illustrator living in Paris, I made a quick drawing of my recipe, I hope you like it!”
Your Mint and Breadcrumb Pesto
